Randall Seymour Saltzman, 26, was arrested at 5:30 p.m. at his parents` home. He had been traced by Fort Lauderdale police, who think he may have been involved in a series of crimes here Thursday, from purse-snatching to murder.

Police said they thought Saltzman took a flight to Las Vegas out of Florida at 6:30 a.m. Friday. They were not certain of the airport where the flight originated.

Local police said they expected Saltzman to fight extradition to Florida to face the murder charge.

He is being held without bail at Clark County Detention Center.

Saltzman had worked here as a security guard and a waiter, according to Ott Cefkin, Fort Lauderdale police spokesman.

Saltzman had lived in Fort Lauderdale for the past few years, Cefkin said. He had previously lived in Las Vegas, where he was also charged with robbery and battery in other cases, Cefkin reported.

Saltzman also had been arrested Feb. 13 on a charge of strong-arm robbery in Dade County, authorities reported.

Fort Lauderdale police had received a number of complaints involving Saltzman, Cefkin said. Those included a complaint from his former landlord on Isle of Venice (Northeast 19th Avenue) that he had not paid his rent and had stolen furniture.

Another complaint said that he had stolen several hundred dollars worth of champagne from the Bahia Mar Yacht Club on the beach, where he reportedly worked as a security guard until September 1984.

Local police said they were able to track down the suspect after talking with a young woman who lives in the northwest section of Fort Lauderdale, near where Saltzman was dropped off Thursday by a cabdriver. The woman had been seeing Saltzman, police had learned. The woman told police that he had been staying at an apartment motel near the beach.

The proprietor of that motel, whose name could not be confirmed late Friday, told police that Saltzman had stolen $100 from him, Cefkin said.

Police said they searched the room where Saltzman had been staying and found papers that showed the address of Saltzman`s parents in Las Vegas.

Local police notified Las Vegas authorities, who arrested him at his parents` home.

His father was described as fairly prominent in Nevada, but his name was not available, Cefkin said.

Saltzman has a long history of arrests in several states, including California, Arizona and Nevada, Cefkin said.

Local police think the man responsible for the liquor store manager`s murder beat and robbed a Haitian who refused to help him later Thursday.

The suspect, who reportedly was bleeding, approached the man and asked to be taken to the hospital, police said. When the man refused, he was beaten about the face and robbed of three gold chains.

The suspect`s cuts were apparently the result of a struggle with the murder victim.

The victim, West, died Thursday about four hours after being beaten in the 1 p.m. robbery attempt at Plaza Liquors, 2915 E. Las Olas Blvd. He was apparently beaten with a vodka bottle. The store was left in a shambles.

Acting on tips from citizens and a cabdriver who may have unknowingly driven the suspect from the murder scene, police outlined a possible chain of events:

The man apparently began the day by ``free-basing`` cocaine, a process that intensifies the effects of the drug. About 10:15, he is thought to have snatched a woman`s purse at the Pantry Pride market in the 500 block of East Las Olas Boulevard. The purse contained only $2 in coins.

Frustrated, the suspect apparently headed to the beach area, where he held up West, manager of Plaza Liquors, and fatally beat him.

Police think he was then picked up by cabdriver Jeffrey Morgan, 25, who told police he offered to take the bleeding man to the hospital. The man initially agreed but later changed his mind.

Morgan said the man paid the fare with a bloodstained $10 bill and was let off at the corner of Northwest Sixth Avenue and Fourth Street.

The next apparent sighting was at 3:45 p.m., when the suspect reportedly approached a young Haitian and asked him to take him to the hospital.

Navoir Guilhaume, 23, does not speak much English and was not sure what the man was asking, police said. Guilhaume was beaten and robbed.

Guilhaume, who was treated for bruises, was shown a composite sketch of the suspect and said he thought it was the same man, police said. The suspect`s left palm was bleeding, Guilhaume said.

The cabdriver provided a missing link that had frustrated police.

Morgan, a Checker Cab driver, said he had turned off his radio and did not know about the murder until he heard about it on the television news Thursday night. He also said he leases his cab, and does not receive radio dispatches.

When he realized he might have picked up the murderer, he called police.

Detective Sgt. Dave Patterson said the driver had picked up a man near the liquor store shortly after the attack. The man had several cuts on his hands, wrists and face and was covered with blood.

``The cabdriver said, `What happened to you?` and the guy said he had just been in a fight with three other men,`` said Patterson.

The driver offered to take the man to a hospital, and the man agreed. The driver then headed west to Las Olas Community Hospital at 1621 E. Las Olas Blvd.

``But when he pulled up out front, the guy said, `Forget it. Take me home,``` Patterson said.